Wesmerité culture test
If you're a Wesmeritéan. . . * You follow the rules, because that's why you have rules, you wouldn't have them if you didn't need them, right? Heance, you must follow them. You would never think of breaking them, that just wouldn't be proper. * You will stand in line patiently and wait your turn in queue, eventually your turn will come, you know it will, even if it takes hours. * But you'll make darn sure that you look darn good waiting in that public line. You're not vain, it's just proper to look your best. * If you are in line, for any lenght of time, you'll strike up a conversation with the person next to you to entertain yourself. * You take pleasure in the many small things in life, like smoking, drinking, eating a well prepared meal, gardening, walking in the park and enjoying each other's company. * Style and fine cuisine is often an obsession. Living well, a way of life. * Hedonistic? Decadent? It's just proper to have fun and enjoy one's self, as long as it's proper. * You are proud of your heritage as a Meritéan, your culture, your language and now the Republic you've set up. You love to share and talk about it with others for hours, but you are astonished at how quickly your neighbours turned into Cimerans, Somerish, Albion-Meritéans, etc. . . was it always like this (regional variation) or did we miss something when we were the centre of the Commonwealth? Could we have been so out of touch? No, no, its' they who are wrong. La cuisine et la vie... * You probably smoke either cigars or cigarettes, the Agillie Water Pipe (also called a Hooka) is also popular. Chew is considered a bad habit and spitting rude, but some still do it. Generally, you like your tobacco, but feel persecuted for your habit when you leave your country. * You are a great connoisseur of beer and wine. You enjoy it and are proud of the diversity of beers and wines your country can produce, and can consume. The government encourages you to drink in moderation, whatever that means. * You like your bacon crisp and your creapes sweat. * You love traditional Wesmerian cuisine and eat it all the time, but indulge in fastfood like Poutine, hambergers, fried creapes, fried ice cream & Bubbletea, as guilty pleasures. * You like just about anything covered in mushrooms and/or cheese and their associated sauces. * You typically don't enjoy coffee. * Your non-alcoholic beverage of choice is Tea, which you love with a passion only rivaled by Feniz. You have created a whole 'Thé House culture' a way of life around the leaf. * You prefer to buy produce local, from a Farmer's Market or a farmer direct, but often you're too busy, or too lazy, to go out and hunt down the right ingredients, so you just break down and buy the cheap imports, often from Utania, found in the Suppermarkets. * Again, you prefer small shops and craftsmenship over large department stores and mass production, but more often then not you end up buying from that discount store anyways. * Your preferred work day is usually 7AM to 11 AM and then 1PM to 5PM (or 5:30PM) so you can enjoy your leasurily two hour lunch, or if you live in the south, a nap during the hot summer months. * Afternoon Tea is another old custom often observed at 4PM. * Dispite the reverance for long lunches (aka dinner) the biggest meal of the day is in the evening: Supper served around 7:30PM to 8:30PM. * You eat a lite breakfeast. * Dispite being a (somewhat) modern industrial state, the country seems to run at slightly different pace from your neighbours and the rest of Vexillium, and you like it that way. * You work to live, not live to work. Just don't mention the Fall... * You consider your country to be a middle power now. You use to be a Great Power but have fallen so very far from that status it's painful to think about. * You're proud of the Military and how it cleaned the Phenixians' clocks in 3 weeks and generally kicked ass in northern Longerath back in 297 to 299. You take comfort in the fact that most of that military force is still intact, but you're bitter and ashamed that it didn't prevent the chaos and breakdown that happened after the King disappeared. * The Fall was caused when King Timothy II failed to return from his "three hour tour". The Governmental chaos that followed led to societal breakdown, communal violence, the UNV occupation, the loss of the Commonwealth and the breakup of Merité. You probably were deeply affected by it in someway, maybe lost someone close to you or had property destroyed. You feel deep shame that foreigners came in and had to run your affairs. You don't like to think about it. * If you are a Nationalist, a Monarchist, a Militarist or or any combination of the three, you roll up into a tiny ball and cry when you do think about it. * Your conculsion from 'the Fall' is that Monarchies are bad and that a democratic Parliamentary Republic is the way to go. You can't understand how the Cimerans or the Albion-Meritéans can still have a Monarchy after what we went through. * You may be interested in international politics, but local politics are more relevant to you. You are more interested in what Sarah Jacobs is doing than in what's going on in Gronk or Lendosa. In general, you do not wish to get involved in wars that do not directly concern you, but you have a proud history of fighting wars that due concern you. * You are getting use to a multi-party system which, surprisingly, feels natural: everyone's viewpoint is represented politically, for better or worse. Unless your a holdout Monarchist, then your party collapsed because they still can't agree on a dynasty, let alone a social policy. Meanwhile, while Monarchists bicker, the rest of the country moves on. * You find that the Parliamentary system seems a bit slow and messy at times and there is an awful lot a deal making, undignified haggling and party switching going on, which is all hard to keep track of. But they (the politicians) seem to muddle through and get the job done. . . eventually. * You're entertained by how all the political parties are so partisan and seem so far apart on issues, then reach consenus and then try to explain it. * The Military stays out of politics as long as the Politicians stay out of the Military's business. * When you start to critizies the drawbacks of the Republic, someone always reminds you about the Timothys' rule during the 280s and 290s and the governmental chaos they caused when they disapeared. You remember the Fall, then shudder and are glad that someone is in charge in Port Angela and feel safe in the knowledge that 389 MPs can't all disappear and there will always be someone in charge under a republic. * You feel that your kind of people aren't being listened to enough in Port Angela, even if you are in Port Angela. * You think that welfare and unemployment payments are a good idea, but you think that a lot of people abuse the system. Welfare recipients, often called 'BeSes' (for Bien-Être Social, a derogative term) are often seen as lazy vagbonds who are a burden on society. * You've just 'Liberalized' a lot of your drug laws and social policy, you don't know if this is going to work but your willing to give it a try. You switched to the Republic, so your not as afraid, or hostile, towards change and experimentation as you use to be. * You have a mixed public & private health care system all paid for with public funds, you get good health care but wonder, with the government subsidizing businesses, paying for a large military and many other social serivces, if Wesmerité can afford it all. * The national-political-economic consensus is cheap clothing, cheap food and cheap entertainment, everything else is open for debate. * The railroads and auto manufacturers are privately run; utilities (telephone, electric, gas) are public. Opinions differ on whether this is a good thing. There are many factories and businesses that are private, but receive subsidies from the government. * You expect, as a matter of course, that the phones will work. Getting a new phone, however, is a chore and can take weeks to hook-up. Coustomer service is poor and you love to hate the phone company. Cellular phones are rare, but you would love to have one, most of the phone system is still anolog and is getting out of date. * Public transit in big cities is very good. If you live in Port Angela, you don't need a car at all. Cabs, buses, ferries, LeMetro (subway) and a great network of bike paths get you anywhere you need to be. * Planes and trains will take you almsot anywhere in the country, just as fast as driving, but the trains almost never run on time, airfare is expensive and people LOVE to drive, so you either drive or suffer and take the train. * The railroad system has good coverage but is old and almost never runs on time. You wonder when the Aethelnians will get that highspeed "TGV" train done? * You love your Auto, and the freedom to go where you want and cannot understand how the Cimerans can live without them. Race, religion and language... * You're fairly likely to believe in God, though you don't take it to extremes like the Cimerans do. * You speak Meritéan and probably Ingallish if you live in the cities and went to the right schools. You may have learned Gronkian, Ulanovan, or some colonial language if you use to live or work in the overseas Commonwealth. * There are a few ethnic minorities in the country, mainly immigrants from the colonies and Gronk. Your opinion of them is usually based on how well they can speak your language. * Tutoiement (informal second person singular, accompanied by calling people by their first name) is usually the rule when meeting people of any age, at school and in the business world. However, the elderly, authority figures and other people deserving of more respect get the formal treatment (vouvoiement, second person plural and use of title and last name) * You expect marriages to be made for love; arranged marriages do happen, rarely, but it does happen, usually brought on by overzelous, old fashioned parents wanting grandchildren or the desperate needing help finding a mate. * You can get married by a Justice of the Peace, but you will probably choose to get married at your local Wesmerian Church of Cruis or, maybe CruisChuch if your in to that. The rule is one man, one woman. Divorce is legal and unfortunately common these days. * A person who has sex with another person of the same gender is considered a homosexual. Gay and Lesbian couples are entitled to the same benefits as married and unmarried heterosexual couples (common law unions). You may be prejudiced towards homosexuals, but you do not wish to deny them basic rights. A Distinct Society... * Ballet and Opera is considered upperclass entertainment, but local theater is very popular, especially in urban centers. Everyone dresses up when they go out. * Wesmerité TV culture is immensely popular. You watch all the téléromans (domestic dramatic series) with great interest. You love sitcoms and comedy programming, the télébon-nuits. There are news programs, talk shows and many wonderful children programs, some which seem too grown up for kids. * You support your local stand-up comics club and go see comedians when they visit on tour. * You have a very active film industry (subsidizied by the government) and love to goto the Cinemas (also subsidizied). Again, you dress up for the occasion. * You watched foreign films dubbed. * You drive on the right side of the road. * You're not really into football, you save your passion for a real game: Cricket. Fencing and swiming are also popular. Curling in a big deal in the mountains and foothills during winter. * You observe Remembrance Day, April 17. The red poppies sure are pretty, although you might not know why they were chosen as a symbol for the Veterans of Meritéans' wars. You dress up for the occasion. * You get six weeks vacation a year. You'll usually take one week off at New Years, one week off in spring and the rest in the summer. If you don't spend it visiting family you either go to the Angela Mountains or to the Coast. If you have a hankering to leave the country you'll probably visit Cimera, the Somery, or go overseas to Cruisana, Davenport or Aethelnia. * Women have a right to be topless in public, but you won't (wouldn't be proper) so it's a purely symbolic perk. * If you want to be a doctor, you need to get a bachelor's first, a BSc, and then years and years of training. * Basic education is free (Grade 1 to 12) you pay for College and University, but not too much. At 19 your going to be conscirpted into the military for a year, which is considered your comprehensive education after your comprehensive education. * You learned Meritéan history throughly, and studied Cruisana and Gronk in school. You have a vauge notion of what happened in Longerath, but can name all the capitals. * Journalists write about everything but the private lives of public people. The Tabloids are another matter. * Professionals are worthy of respect, even lawyers. * You're very proud of your court system, and its' unique blend of professional jurors and investigative judges, however you hope you never have to use the courts, you might not live to see a verdict. * The police are armed, but not with submachine guns. They are trusted, but often ridiculed as lanky, mustachioed doughnut eaters, often from the mountains with heavy accents. Places and weather... * The coast is called 'the sunshine coast' in summer, but it's certainly not that in winter. It's cool and very rainy in winter, hot and very sunny in summer. * In the interior plains, foothills and mountains there are four distinct seasons and the weather is veriable. * Most people live in the cities, but you probably have a relative that stayed on the farm, so you still have a connection to the land. * The people that you most often hear jokes about are the Northwesterners from the mountains. With their lanky build, thick accents and perchant for crazy bagged instruments, they are the national choice to make fun of. * Port Angela is the centre of the universe. At least they think they are. Everyone Knows... * Dates are in the DD/MM/YY format, unless it's the tax form, then the year comes first. Some banks want it MM/DD/YY, but that's just silly. * You know what happened on 26/06/301 * The decimal point is a comma. * In official documents, the 24-hour system is used, 7 PM is 19:00, but in practice you use the 12-hour system. * A billion has 12 zeros, 9 zeros is a milliard. * You use metric mostly, except for height where feet and inches are the standard and pounds are used for peoples' weights. Temperature is measured in degrees Celsius, distances in Kilometers. The older generation still complains bitterly about 'going meterroric' under King Timothy I. Space and Time... * If you have an appointment, you'll mutter an excuse if you're five minutes late, and apologize if it's fifteen minutes. An hour late and you won't show up in person because the shame will be too great. You'll phone and apologize profusely and rebook at the other person's convience. At the second appointment you'll probably bring a small gift, maybe flowers or a trinket, to make amends. You get more leeway being late in the winter, up in the western foothills and northwestern mountains. * You seriously expect to be able to transact business, or deal with the government, without paying bribes. * If you're talking to someone, you get uncomfortable if they approach closer than about two feet. Maybe three feet would be better. However, kissing on both cheeks when you meet or leave someone you know well, family or not, is custom. * About the only things you expect to bargain for are houses and antiques. If you see a price, you take it or you leave it, as haggling is considered unseemly and not dignified. When you do haggle it's largely a matter of finding the hidden point that's the buyer's minimum and agreeing to it. Le Foreigners... * You consider Cimerans, Meritéans from Albion-Merité, Ulnovabad, Sehria and 'Castronovia' your countrymen. They have their charming regional quirks, but there all Meritéans. . . right? * You like to reunite with Cimera, Sehria and Albion-Merité but little trivial issues like Monarchies, Republics, Geopolitics, Social and Economic policy get in the way. Deep down in side, you know you want unification, but only if you're in charge. * You like Cimerans, despite the break-up of Wesmeria, unless you're an autoworker then you decry their experiment in mass transit and weep at the loss of access to one third of your traditional car market. Overall you find Cimerans overly religious, irrationally clingy to their monarchy and annoyingly health conscious. * All the grammer teachers in Wesmerité seem to come from Cimera. * You like the Meritéans from Albion-Merité, but wish the Albionish would just go back to where the Zartanians found them. You are suspicious of their Government and think their Emperor is a tool of Zartanian imperialism. * Ulnovabad is the jewel of the west coast. You can't understand why the Cimerans swapped it with Feniz for a few islands, but you keep your mouth shut. You buy your oil from Feniz and they actually don't do that bad a job running the place. It wouldn't be polite or proper to critizies. * Depending on your political leanings you believe Castronovia should either be hailed as a great experiment, destoryed, or just ignored. * In general, if you are from the city you love to visit with foreigners and are very curious about them. If you are from the rural country side, not so much. * Cruisanians are a pleasent, but a reserved and serious people. * Somerish are quaint and provincial. Strangely, they seem ungreatfull for 13 years of Commonwealth rule. * Aethelnians are vain, but charming. * Fenizians exotic mounists who are oil rich. * Ulanovans are just dumb and silly. * You find Utania an interesting country to read about, but you never go there. Most of your clothing comes from there, made by Wesmeritéan companies in Utani sweatshops. This doesn't bother you, Utani get good jobs and you buy the latest fashions at resonable prices: In free trade everybody wins. Unless you are a farmer, besides the weather, complaning about free trade and Utania's imports is your favourite topic. * You dislike Zartania intensly. They are the militaristic, fascist monarchy you blame for the formation of Albion-Merité, during Zartania's UNV mandate, which started the whole break-up of the Commonwealth. You believe Zartania is bent on a bid for world domination! * You have a love-fear relationship with Gronk. You enjoy their culture and like the Gronk as people, but they have been expanisionist in the past, there are a BILLION OF THEM and they've just gone Commie! You miss Željko and wish he was still in charge. * Phenixians are EEEvill! Your devious cultural and linguistic cousins across the sea are pompous snobs with a predilection for espionage and delusions of grandure. During the troubles in northern Longerath, back in 297, they stirred up trouble, killed the Cruisana King's nephew and tried to stick the blame on us! We trounce them in the resulting war though they'll never admit they lost. You think the Phenixians probably had something to do with the assassination of King Timothy I and the disappearance of King Timothy II, just to get back at us for winning. Worst of all, they butcher our language. Category:Cultural tests Category:Wesmerité